Police are searching for the driver of a pickup who slammed into a utility pole late Sunday night, killing one of his passengers and injuring another as he sped away from an apparent hit-and-run wreck moments earlier in southwest Houston.

The fatal wreck occurred about 11:15 p.m. in the 9400 block of the outbound Southwest Freeway frontage road near Bissonnet, according to the Houston Police Department.

Police said the driver of a red F-150 Ford pickup was traveling southbound when he reportedly was involved in a traffic crash. He left the scene and was being followed by witnesses, police said, when he failed to remain in a single lane, veered from the road and smashed into a utility pole.

The driver jumped out of the crumpled truck and ran away. The front seat passenger was taken to a nearby hospital. The person's condition was not released, but police said the injuries were not life-threatening. The backseat passenger died.

No description of the driver was available. Police did not release details of the hit-and-run wreck that happened before the fatal crash.